


Solemn Promises

by mystiri1



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Community: never_written, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-05-31
Updated: 2010-05-31
Packaged: 2017-10-09 19:57:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/90990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mystiri1/pseuds/mystiri1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yuffie grew up listening to her father's stories.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Solemn Promises

Although Lady Kasumi was much admired by the people of Wutai, more than a few commented on the fact that she only bore Lord Godo a single child, and a daughter at that. It was not proper that their ruler lacked a male heir, and every now and then someone would be foolish enough to suggest that perhaps Godo should set his wife aside in order to try for a son.

They never suggested it twice.

Godo adored his wife. She was the most refined and dignified of ladies in a court setting, but in private, she never hesitated to tell him exactly what she thought of anything. More than willing to argue with him - at the top of her lungs, if necessary - and not in the least put off by his rank, he claimed she prevented his life from becoming boring.

As for the daughter she bore him, Godo adored her, too, and after Kasumi passed away from an illness, he doted on her all the more.

Members of the court were of two minds as to whether this was a good or a bad thing. While there was no doubt that Yuffie was capable of brightening Lord Godo's darkest moods with her antics, those same energetic ways made it extremely difficult to get her to sit through the necessary lessons on court protocol. It was made harder by Lord Godo's habit of telling her stories of Wutai's glorious past: tales of warriors and heroes, samurai and ninja, all of which Yuffie would attempt to re-enact. While watching a six-year old 'sneak' rather noisily through the palace was amusing, it was considerably less so when she attempted to 'slay' mythical beasts. The Captain of the Guard was heard to admit it was nothing short of a miracle that one of the foulanders hadn't eaten her, tired of being hit on the head with a paper-mâché sword.

In the end, the guards gave up on trying to keep her away from their practice yard, and settled for ensuring she was sufficiently exhausted before delivering her to her tutors in etiquette and deportment. At least if she was where they could see her, she wasn't getting herself eaten or otherwise killed.

As she grew older, the war stretched on. Lord Godo became more and more grim about the outcome, until it seemed that even his daughter could not cheer him. Although Wutai had a proud warrior heritage and fought with great courage and determination, ShinRa's seemingly inexhaustible resources were taking their toll. When yet another port fell, opening the way for an assault on one of their oldest fortresses, Godo insisted on travelling there himself. Fort Tamblin had stood for hundreds of years, and to let it fall into the hands of foreigners without a fight was unthinkable.

Yuffie insisted on coming, too. Her father immediately refused, but nobody was really surprised when she appeared less than a day after their arrival. The atmosphere within the fort was tense, and she seemed to absorb some of this, helping wherever an extra hand was needed rather than indulging in her usual mischief. Finally, all preparations were complete, and they settled down to await the inevitable attack.

The army never appeared at the gates. ShinRa sent two of their SOLDIERs, the enhanced warriors that had decimated Wutai's ranks in previous battles. By the time ShinRa's regular infantry arrived, the fort's defences were in ruins. With them, came several men in suits, bearing formal documents of surrender.

Yuffie was furious.

“They cheated!” she yelled at her father. “They have no honour! You cannot surrender to them!”

Lord Godo sighed. “Yuffie, our armies are all but destroyed, and they hold the fortress within which we stand. How are we to fight them? We must consider instead how to save as much as possible for our people.”

Yuffie's eyes filled with tears. After everything her father had told her of unbeatable warriors who never gave up, his words seemed like the worst of betrayals. “If you won't fight them, I will!” She ran out of the building, and promptly crashed into one of the SOLDIERs who had helped capture the fortress. The glowing eyes were enough to give her pause, but she drew herself up, thinking of the heroes in her father's stories.

“Who are you?” the SOLDIER asked.

“Wutai's greatest warrior! Give up!” She hit him a few times, and followed it up with a kick in the shins. He fell back several steps, a look of shock on his face.

“Oh no, you got me!” he cried.

Panting, she glared at him. He wasn't dead, but she'd heard how difficult it was to kill a SOLDIER. And she wasn't quite sure she really wanted to kill anyone. But maybe now he'd think twice before messing with Wutai again. “I will protect Wutai!”

Yuffie left the strange SOLDIER in the courtyard, heading at a run for the armoury and the weapons she knew she could find there – if they hadn't already been removed by the invading forces.

The larger weapons were gone, but Yuffie found several small knives and shuriken that had been overlooked, probably disregarded as a real threat. She armed herself, grabbing a rope that had also been left behind, then headed for the kitchens. She'd need supplies if she was to travel any real distance.

She paused a moment to glare at the ShinRa banner flying from one of the fort's flagpoles. “My name is Yuffie Kisaragi, and I shall defeat you,” she swore under her breath. It didn't matter that what she promised was impossible; mere impossibility was not enough to stop a true son – or daughter – of Wutai when honour was at stake. She couldn't believe her father, of all people, had forgotten this. And if the direct approach would not work, she'd have to use other methods. “I shall become Wutai's greatest ninja ever.”

She nodded to herself. ShinRa had defeated Wutai by being sneaky and underhanded, but she'd listened to just as many tales of subterfuge and intrigue as she had of glorious battles. She'd fight back by being sneaky, too.

She was Yuffie Kisaragi, daughter of Lord Godo, ruler of all Wutai. And no matter what it took, she would see the great nation of Wutai restored once more.

**Author's Note:**

> Kasumi's name and cause of death is courtesy of [finalfantasy.wikia](http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Yuffie_Kisaragi) although I should point out that, as per usual, Square Enix's official information appears to contradict their own timeline. Yuffie is nine at the time Fort Tamblin falls. Dialogue between Yuffie and Zack is not an exact copy of the game script, but does borrow heavily from it.


End file.
